The Rocky Horror of the New Millenium?

Like most people, clowns kind of creep me out. And for some reason, so do the billboards and ads for “The Room” I’ve seen around Los Angeles for a couple of years now. I’m not sure if its the lazy eye of star Tommy Wiseau has on the poster, as if he’s oogling the top cluster of my chest hair (I get this quite a bit, actually). More likely, its that between the commercials for the movie and the cheap ass poster design, I get the feeling this is the Angelyne of movies: a self financed production that manages to get attention for the mere sake of being a trainwreck.

Apparently, I’m not too far off. According to a recent piece by NPR, the mysteriously financed $6 million dollar movie is so bad that it has assembled a cult following and attracts hundreds of people to its once a month screenings at the Sunset 5.

During the movie, audience members shout out their own commentary about the dialogue, the sets — and notably, the framed photograph of a spoon that inexplicably reappears. Each time this happens, plastic spoons are thrown at the screen, in the can-do spirit of Rocky Horror Picture Show fans… The consensus is that the movie is so bad it’s actually painfully funny to watch… Fans of The Room are cheering a cinematic train wreck…

I’m about to go see The Room for a third time in the theater, which I have only done when a film had Star Wars or Fargo in the title. Admitedly, nothing in this film works. The lighting. The set. The acting. The plot. The sound design. The editing. The music. Tommy Wiseau’s freaky nudity. The comedy. The drama. But if one of these aspects did work, the movie would be no fun at all.

Other IMDb reviews include:

While The Room is the worst movie ever made it is also the greatest way to spend a blisteringly fast 100 minutes in the dark. Simply put, `The Room’ will change your life. (Brickyard Jimmy)

So Independent it’s Cinematic Masturbation! (Mroussele)

One of those rare laugh-riots that is so fantastically inept as to border on genius. While most bad movies offer a handful of terrible scenes divided by stretches of just plain dull, writer-director-producer-star Tommy Wiseau’s film offers one moment of disaster after another. (NeelyO)

Okay, maybe I shouldn’t be so much creeped as inspired… or maybe just feel awe-inspired. Regardless, clowns don’t seem so bad now.

“The Room” will next show at the Sunset 5 on Saturday, May 27th at midnight.

One Reply to “The Rocky Horror of the New Millenium?”

I saw the commercials on tv a while ago and all but forgot about the film, except for that memorable line, “You are tearing me apart, Lisa,” as well as the sound of glass breaking. I think having to pay for it would diminish any enjoyment I would get out of watching it.